1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to beverage cups and containers. The present invention relates more specifically to stackable, disposable beverage cups and containers having partitions to separate a beverage from ice in the cup or container.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many beverage cups and containers in the prior art which are directed to keeping a beverage cool. Some of these designs provide a container having one or more partitions. Some containers are designed with one or more liquid-filled cavities which can be frozen prior to use in order to cool a beverage that is poured into the container. There are various designs for these cooling cavities. Some cavities are located in the side walls of the container, while others use inserts of various shapes and sizes which can be placed in hollow portions of the container.
Other beverage containers are designed with rigid partitions in order to separate two or more fluids within the same container but which are not designed to allow the container to be stacked. A stackable device in the prior art which is designed to keep crushed ice or ice cubes away from the beverage fails to keep water from melting ice cubes separate from the beverage in the container.
There is a need in the art to have a stackable, disposable beverage cup which prevents water from melting ice from diluting the beverage in the container, but which allows sufficient contact between the ice and the beverage to keep the liquid cooled.
Ideally, such a device would be economical to make and simple to use. It would be desirable for the container to be of standard size and materials such that the cup could be used in conventional dispensers without modification of design.